Tattoos
by Mako1
Summary: Dennis Creevy has found healing in tattoos.


Tattoos

Dennis Creevy finds healing in tattoos.

A/N: The rabbit tattoo mentioned in here is of the Black Rabbit of Inlè from the Richard Adams novel, _Watership Down_.

Hannah Longbottom was bored. It was the middle of the week and school had started back up, so patronage was slow at the Leaky Cauldron. She'd always been zealous about keeping up with the books, so it wasn't as if she could fiddle with those for something to do. Everything was tidied and ready to welcome customers, should they appear, she mused. She glanced to her side when she caught movement behind her and smiled at the house elf Enzi who had ambled in from the kitchen with two cups of tea. Enzi placed the cups on the bar and hopped up onto the stool behind the bar. He slid one of the cups over to Hannah before taking a sip from his own. Enzi was a free elf and had asked Hannah for employment not long after she'd taken over the Leaky Cauldron. The family he'd been indentured to had been murdered during the war and Hannah had agreed to take him on, as long as he agreed to sign a work contract that ensured his freedom. Enzi accepted payment of ten galleons a month with the option to take a day off whenever he desired. He usually only took one day a month off so he could wander around Diagon Alley and visit with other elves that lived and worked at the various shops.

Enzi had met Hannah and her husband Neville right after the war, when they were staying with Augusta Longbottom. Augusta had agreed to allow the elf to move into her home while Hannah and Neville got their lives sorted out. Enzi wasn't the only war stray that had moved in, as Neville had insisted to his grandmother that she allow Dennis Creevy to move in as well. His parents were murdered by Death Eaters for being muggles and bearing wizards, while his elder brother had been killed in the Battle of Hogwarts. Dennis had no one left. Neville and Hannah refused to allow their fellow D.A. member be shuffled off to one of the many orphanages that had popped up after the war. It had taken several years for Dennis to finally come to terms with all that had happened because of Voldemort and his maniacal lust for power. He'd finished school the same year Hannah had obtained the Leaky Cauldron and like Enzi, he'd accepted an offer to work with her. While Hannah and Neville had moved into the flat above the Leaky Cauldron, Dennis continued to live with Augusta Longbottom though he did have a room at the Leaky Cauldron too. He'd run errands for Augusta and tend to her until she passed away one night in her sleep. Dennis had Neville's blessing to remain at the house that had become Neville's after Augusta had died and the young wizard had accepted gratefully. At the Leaky Cauldron, Dennis tended bar and waited on patrons in the pub while Enzi had taken over the kitchen. Dennis also discovered a much needed talent he had while working at the Leaky Cauldron. He was very good at listening and sympathising with people who had suffered greatly during the war. Despite all he'd lost, he was able to help others cope with their own losses. Several people regularly visited the Leaky Cauldron to sit down and chat with him, as he assured them that things would get better.

Hannah mused at how Dennis had overcome so much tragedy to grow into a caring and loving young man. One elder gentleman had compared Dennis Creevy to Harry Potter once. A boy who lost everything yet survived to defeat the darkness that lay ahead. Where Harry's purpose was the defeat of Voldemort, Dennis' seemed to be the defeat of grief. Hannah had mentioned what the gentleman had said to Harry one day and he looked thoughtful for a moment before deciding that maybe the old man had been right. They had been watching as Dennis sat with a young wizard who had lost his mother and sister to the war. The wizard had come in with the haunted look of loss on his face and before long Dennis had helped to remove that look and replace it with a small one of hope. Hannah was brought out of her musings by Enzi asking where Dennis had disappeared to.

"He said he had an appointment, but didn't specify for what," Hannah replied.

"Probably to add to his art collection," Enzi muttered. Hannah laughed.

"I know he's been saving up for a while now to get another one," she replied. Dennis Creevy had gotten a tattoo when he was sixteen and loved it. While his first was of a small scroll with the letters 'DA', on the back of his right wrist, his collection had grown considerably and was much more intricate than the first and most beloved one he had.

"As long as it isn't like that rabbit one he has," Enzi said. "That one is bit unnerving," he added with a small shudder.

"I like that one actually," Hannah admitted. At first she had been perplexed by the large shadowy black rabbit with the glowing blue eyes that adorned most of Dennis' upper right arm. That was until he gave her a muggle book to read. She learned that the rabbit was a mythological creature in the book and had always held a special place in Dennis' heart. Especially once he learned that his full bodied patronus was of a rabbit.

"It's a symbol of death. The boy said so himself," Enzi scowled.

"I know it is, but Denny's always been enamoured with it," Hannah replied. "I remember him telling me how he'd always felt that the rabbit was misunderstood as sinister, when he felt that it was a herald and teacher."

Enzi looked up at her and scowled. "He made you read that book didn't he?" Hannah chuckled and nodded her head. "And you love it as much as he does from the sounds of it."

"Not quite," Hannah snorted. "I've only read it once. He's read it so many times, that he can probably recite it from memory."

"I still don't like it," Enzi muttered, taking another sip of tea.

"Well for Denny it serves as a memorial," Hannah supplied. Under the rabbit tattoo, Dennis had the names of those he'd cared for and lost to the war. The names ended just above his wrist where the DA scroll tattoo resided.

Wizards and witches Enzi mused were dreamers. "Always seeing symbols in things," he muttered.

"And elves don't?" Hannah teased.

"Not to the degree you lot do." Hannah shrugged and finished her tea.

"I'll get it," she said when Enzi moved to take away the cup. Enzi nodded and resumed his spot on the stool. Hannah went into the kitchen for the tea kettle and brought it out to refill her cup as well as top off Enzi's. He muttered his thanks to her as she set the kettle aside. The witch and elf chatted behind the lonely bar and shared tea until they heard the back door open. A witch came through from Diagon Alley and waved at the pair as she continued on through the front door and out into the streets of London.

"Looks like she sold all of the flowers she gathered," Hannah mused. Enzi nodded.

"I got some pansies from her when she came in earlier," he said. "I wanted them for a recipe I recently got."

"Oh?" Hannah queried. Enzi went on to tell her about a dessert recipe that he'd been given and her eyes lit up. "That sounds delicious," she grinned.

"Well you can tell me what you think tomorrow when I've made it," Enzi said. "And where have you been?" he asked when Dennis Creevy entered through the front door just then.

"Getting my masterpiece finished," he smiled.

"I knew it," Enzi snorted and Hannah laughed.

"Well let's see it," Hannah asked and Dennis pulled his shirt over his head and turned his back to them. Enzi gave a curt nod of approval while Hannah stepped from behind the bar to have a better look at the new tattoo covering Dennis' entire back. "So beautiful," she murmured as she studied the image of a phoenix in flight.

"Thanks Hannah," Dennis replied as he put his shirt back on. "I just had to get the last of the colouring filled in," he added as he took a seat across from where Hannah and Enzi were sitting. Enzi snapped his withered fingers and a third tea cup appeared on the bar. "Thanks Enzi," Dennis said as he poured himself a cup.

"I like that one better than that rabbit," Enzi said and Dennis smirked. Hannah laughed as she resumed her seat on a stool next to Enzi.

"I had a dream a while back," Dennis started after a moment. "In it, I realised that I was a healed as I can be." Hannah took his hand in hers. He flashed a small smile while Enzi just nodded his head sagely. "The following morning I went and got this started on," he said, pointing a thumb towards his back.

"What was the dream?" Hannah asked.

"A phoenix in flight over a fire ravaged glade," Dennis replied. "The phoenix saw the destruction and cried for the beauty lost. The phoenix's tears healed the glade and brought it to life again."

"And that's the phoenix from the dream?" Enzi asked. Dennis nodded and said that he had easily drawn it from memory.

"Handed it over to the artist and got it started a month ago," he added. "Normally something this size takes a lot longer to complete. Unless you know a few healing charms of course," he smirked. Enzi rolled his eyes while Hannah playfully smacked his arm. Dennis looked around the empty pub and frowned. "Has there been anybody today?" he asked.

"A few came in for breakfast," Hannah answered. "Other than that, it has been quiet."

"Middle of the week usually is," Enzi added. Dennis shrugged and drained the last of his tea from the cup. He was about to pour a second cup when they heard the back door open. Dennis spied the scarred old witch and hopped from his stool to help her towards the bar.

"Thank you Dear," she smiled sweetly as he helped her onto a stool that he'd transfigured into a tall comfortable chair.

"Been shopping Mrs Fayan?" Hannah asked as Enzi went into the kitchen for more tea and Mrs Fayan's usual of lamb stew. Dennis followed the elf.

"Yes Hannah dear," the old witch smiled sweetly. "I needed owl treats and some things from the apothecary."

"Here you are Mrs Fayan, would you like anything else?" Dennis asked as he placed tea and a slice of carrot cake before her.

"A bowl of lamb stew if Enzi has any ready would be lovely," she replied and Dennis quickly went back into the kitchen to fetch her order.

Enzi followed Dennis back out to the bar and took his seat again. Dennis served Mrs Fayan before grabbing another stool and sitting next to her. Mrs Fayan had been one of the many that Dennis Creevy had helped get through the after effects of the war with his patience and kindness. She had survived a Death Eater attack on her home but had lost her entire family. She was in St Mungo's for a long time, recovering from the burns and wounds that she'd suffered in the attack. Upon her release, she'd found herself wandering into the Leaky Cauldron one day and into the care of the young wizard. Through talking with the boy, Mrs Fayan had found her way out of the bleakness that had engulfed her. She visited the pub once a week to have lunch and chat with Dennis, Hannah, and Enzi if the elf was about. It helped to keep her spirits up.

Mrs Fayan had asked them about their day so far and Dennis had told her about the latest tattoo he'd acquired. She asked to see it and Dennis stood up to remove his shirt and show her the phoenix on his back. "Oh it's lovely Denny," she complimented. Dennis replaced his shirt and thanked her as he took his seat again. The old witch chatted with them as she finished her early lunch before bidding them good bye as Dennis helped her over to the fireplace. He stayed there until the emerald flames diminished before heading back to the bar.

"We should probably get some lunch now," Hannah piped up after glancing at the time and Dennis went to fetch stew and bread for them.

They finished eating just as the first of the lunch crowd began to arrive. Enzi wandered back into the kitchen, while Hannah and Dennis went about their duties serving customers and chatting with anyone who wanted to. Later that afternoon, Hannah watched with a small smile as Dennis tended to yet another of the war weary with a warm smile and compassionate ear. A witch had entered the pub looking lost to the world and Dennis had immediately noticed her look. He asked to sit with her as it was slow, when he served her a glass of pumpkin juice. Before long he'd managed to get her to talk and as he did with so many others, taken the look of anguish from her face and replaced it with one of hope. Hannah began to wonder if Dennis Creevy wasn't part phoenix himself given his ability to heal other's hearts. At least he had the image of one imbedded into him forever, she mused. She heard an order for fire whiskey being called out by a couple of Ministry officials and went to take care of it.

FIN


End file.
